Cult of Mac
U.S. Apple-enthusiast tech
Background
Cult of Mac was launched by Leander Kahney as a blog while he worked at Wired News in the mid-2000s; he took it fully independent in 2009. Kahney is a British-born journalist who relocated to San Francisco after stints at local UK papers and MacWeek before joining Wired. In his roughly 30-year career covering Apple, he has authored six books about the company, including two New York Times bestsellers: Inside Steve's Brain and Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products. The site's editorial identity is explicitly fan- and enthusiast-facing — the name itself signals an Apple loyalist audience — and its coverage is broadly positive toward Apple products by design, a trait common to niche tech enthusiast outlets. Revenue comes from display advertising, affiliate links, sponsored posts, and podcast ads; the outlet received a small SBA Paycheck Protection Program loan ($36,470) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cult of Mac is a member of Upscribe, a U.S.-based collective of technology and lifestyle publishers. When Trump administration trade tariffs disrupted Apple's global supply chain in 2025–2026, the site covered the issue from Apple's and consumers' perspectives, at times framing the policies skeptically (e.g., a newsletter headlined 'Apple trumps Trump'), but political analysis is not a regular editorial focus.
Sources
- Leander Kahney interview: History of 'Cult of Mac' revealed | Cult of Mac
- Leander Kahney – Wikipedia
- About Cult of Mac: Apple news, reviews and how-tos for Apple fans
- Cult of Mac reviews and affiliate links policy
- Cult of Mac advertising: How to reach millions of tech consumers
- Apple trumps Trump | Cult of Mac Newsletter
- Cult of Mac – Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding
- Are Apple Media Biased? Of Course – The Mac Observer
Profile compiled 2026-06-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.